A number of non-invasive imaging approaches are known and are presently in use. One such type of system is based upon the detection of X-rays that have passed through a volume of interest. The X-rays traverse the volume, and whatever materials occupy the volume, and impact a film or a digital detector. In medical diagnostic contexts, for example, such systems may be used to visualize internal tissues and diagnose patient ailments. In other contexts, parts, baggage, parcels, and other materials may be imaged to assess their contents or for other purposes, such as for quality review in a manufacturing context.
Increasingly, such X-ray systems use digital circuitry, such as solid-state detectors, for detecting the X-rays. Such solid-state detectors may generate electrical signals indicative of the incident X-rays on the detector, which in turn are indicative of the attenuation or scatter of X-rays along different ray paths through the imaged volume. The generated signals may in turn be processed to reconstruct images of the subject of interest within the volume, including internal features of an object or patient within the imaged volume.
Such solid-state or digital detectors may be portable and may be used in place of film-based detection systems as a means of upgrading an existing system. In addition, in newer systems, a variety of portable detectors may be provided and used interchangeably with different systems, such that no one detector is fixed to or dedicated for use with a particular imaging system. In such arrangements, a portable detector may need to be stored or otherwise physically accounted for when not in use.